The bloc seeking to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured crucial appointments to Knesset committees on Wednesday.
The newly appointed Knesset Arrangements Committee voted to approve the appointments of Yisrael Beytenu, chairman Avigdor Liberman, as temporary chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) and B’Yachad MK Liran Avisar Ben-Horin as chairman of the Finance Committee.
The FADC oversees national-security matters, military budgets, and legislation related to IDF conscription.
Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, who received the mandate from President Isaac Herzog to form the next government, has been pushing for his bloc to pass as much legislation as possible until a new government is formed.
It was agreed that both committees would each have 17 members from various parties. The proposals were approved following a stormy discussion in the Arrangements Committee by a vote of 13-9. The decisions still require final approval by the Knesset plenum.
Arrangements Committee approved earlier in the day by Knesset plenum
Earlier in the day, the Knesset plenum approved the composition of the Arrangements Committee that the Eisenkot-led bloc wanted.
The Arrangements Committee is a temporary Knesset committee that organizes the Knesset’s work at the start of a new parliamentary term and determines the composition of the key committees that will oversee legislation.
The Eisenkot bloc’s proposal for the Arrangements Committee’s composition passed by a 63-50 vote. It was the first vote held in the plenum after the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset on Tuesday.
The vote demonstrated the Eisenkot-led bloc’s ability to secure a Knesset majority following the October 27 election. His bloc received 67 seats, including 19 from the Arab parties, while Netanyahu’s bloc won 53.
No government has been formed yet, however, as some party leaders have drawn a redline against partnering with the Arab parties. Nevertheless, their support could still allow the bloc to pass key legislation even while Netanyahu heads a caretaker government.
Yashar MK Roy Folkman will head the Arrangements Committee in accordance with the law stipulating that the panel be chaired by an MK from the faction of the candidate tasked by the president with forming the government.
Folkman was selected for the position, Yashar said on Tuesday. The decision was made in agreement with party leaders from the Eisenkot-led bloc, it said.
The vote on the committee’s composition paved the way for the Eisenkot-led bloc to appoint its nominees to head the key committees and advance legislation until a new government is formed.
The Arrangements Committee is expected to finalize the composition of the committees during its deliberations. The appointments would then be brought to the Knesset plenum for approval next Wednesday, Yashar said on Tuesday.
Under Folkman’s proposal, the Arrangements Committee will have 22 MKs, and each party will receive one seat on the committee for every five MKs it has.
Yashar will have four representatives, B’Yachad and The Democrats will each have two each, and Yisrael Beytenu will have one.
Likud will have five representatives, Otzma Yehudit, the Religious Zionist Party, United Torah Judaism, and Shas will each have one representative.
Arab parties to be represented by total of four MKs across the two committees
The Joint List and Ra’am will each have two representatives.
A proposal by Likud MK Ofir Katz failed to secure a majority.
Likud criticized the Eisenkot-led bloc for voting with the Arab parties, reiterating its claim that the bloc was “cooperating with supporters of terrorism.”
Although Eisenkot received the mandate to form the next government, with recommendations from the Arab parties, he is not required to form a coalition with them.
The bloc has recently shifted toward opening coalition negotiations with the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, which have been key partners in Netanyahu’s coalition, to secure a majority instead.